– It seems that they were determined to punish us a lot for sending a message to activists, and in that case the right to free demonstration is very difficult, said Skahjem to Nettavisen.
Together with Anne Klenge (25), he has now been sentenced to 100 days in prison without conditions and to pay NOK 10,000 in compensation. The amount was the price to remove the paint from the Monolith.
On Tuesday 23 April, the trial began against two climate activists from the group Stopp Oljeletingen. The trial lasted two days, where the two were accused of intentionally or negligently damaging cultural monuments of special national and international importance.
In November 2022, the two climate activists took action and poured orange paint over the Monolith and six other sculptures on the Monolith Plateau in Vigelandsparken in Oslo. In addition, they painted with brushstrokes on the bottom of the Monolith, which left traces of paint that could not be removed afterwards.
When the police arrived at Frognerparken, the protesters were turned away from the scene, but refused to leave. So they were also charged with disobeying police orders.
They will now appeal the decision.
– This judgment should be the “nail in the coffin” to the myth of Norway as a progressive climate-conscious nation, says Skahjem.
Read also: Two defenders for choking the Monolith
No mitigating circumstances
The climate activist does not think it is surprising that the state acts in this way.
– But I find it disappointing that the Norwegian state first ignores warnings from the UN about the importance of not continuing oil extraction, and that the Norwegian legal system then ignoring the warning to the UN that can set serious punishment against climate activists. a dangerous precedent, he says.
In the judgment from the Oslo District Court, it is noted that the Monolith has a prominent place for the residents and visitors of Oslo.
The defenders believed that the Klenge and Skahjem climate guarantee must be a mitigating circumstance. The court does not agree with that, and writes, among other things, that there is no resentment or the like towards Vigelandsparken.
– In the opinion of the court, attacks against cultural treasures are a worrying development at a time when trust in democracy is weakening, which indicates that cases of general prohibition are particularly appropriate, writes the district court in the birth. Therefore the court rejects that the reason for desecrating the images is a mitigating circumstance.
The district court says, on the other hand, that it was only luck that meant that the dirt did not have a significant effect.
– Fortunately, the monolith has stood up well through paining and cleaning (… ) it is worse that the action could have gone much worse and more of the paint could have to have stayed, if not for the luck of the cleaners they were immediately available.
Read also: The Monolith was destroyed – risk 120 days in jail
The action is very negligent
– The intention was never to damage the images. The aim and purpose was to sound the alarm about fossil fuel extraction by Norway. With this action, my client believes that they are protecting basic human rights, Klenge’s lawyer Cecilie Nakstad told NTB before the trial.
The Oslo district court recognizes that Klenge and Skahjem had no desire to permanently damage the statues, and points out that they tested different types of paint on granite during the preparation, to see what the kind of paint that could be washed off.
This test was still not good enough, partly because they tested another type of granite.
– The court believes that Klenge and Skahjem have been completely negligent regarding the paint stains that they did not allow themselves to remove, the judgment says.
– They clearly should have done better investigations, but the court believes that the penalty here is slightly lower than where permanent damage is expected.
2024-05-13 12:59:25
#Monolith #destroyed #sentenced #days #prison
